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Sochi Olympics: Russian Writer Mikhail Shiskin Holds His Applause

To Mikhail Shishkin, Russia today, under President Vladimir Putin, resembles too closely the Russia of old

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Mikhail Shishkin

Feb. 14, 2014 7:45 p.m. ET

Like most Russians, Mikhail Shishkin has no memory of the 1980 Olympic hockey game known in America as "The Miracle on Ice."

That isn't because the Soviets lost that game to America, however. The game took place shortly after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Following that offensive, Shishkin, who was 19 at the time, says he stopped supporting the Soviet sports regime.